Race Relations in Uncle Tom\'s

Race Relations in Uncle Tom's Cabin By Harriet Beecher Stowe And The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain

Race relations are approached b y many writers and are seen from many different viewpoints but some of the most poignant relationships are formed from the most unlikely characters. Two stories that illustrate this point are Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Both stories demonstrate that different races can get along if they choose to overlook their national identity and look only at people as individuals. These stories become more powerful when each author utilizes the innocence of children as a motivating tool in each tale. Through the eyes of children, Stowe and Twain demonstrate the true nature of mankind when he is not influence by the opinions of others or by social norms. Friendship can be achieved in the most unusual of ways and when we allow ourselves to enjoy it, it can be most beneficial to us - regardless of one's age, race, or sex.

In Uncle Tom's Cabin, the characters that best illustrate this kind of relationship are Tom and Eva. These two characters come to mean more to each other than most. Tome and Eva become close primarily as victims of circumstance but the remain close because of their affection for one another. They are friends regardless of what others say about their friendship and their friendship comes to be significant to both of them in their lives. Tom and Eva's relationship grows as Eva does. We read:

It would be hard to say what place she held in the soft, impressible heart of her faithful attendant. He loved her as something frail and earthly, yet almost worshipped her as something heavenly and divine. He gazed on her as the Italian sailor gazes on his image of the child Jesus, - with a mixture of reverence and tenderness; and to humor her graceful fancies, and meet those thousand simple wants which invest childhood like a many-colored rainbow, was Tom's chief delight. (Stowe 257)

This passage is significant because it illuminates both sides of the friendship. Eva and Tom share a genuine affection for one another. They see beyond limitations that others try to impose on them. While little Eva is too young to understand what her friendship represents, Tom is not. He recognizes the girl's true nature and cannot help but love her. When she mentions to him that she is aware that she is going to die, Tom must face losing his friend. We read that Tom's heart melts when he thinks of her and how he thinks of her becoming ill and weak. It was not until he heard the words from the girl's mouth did he finally come to realize what was happening. His little friend was dying and there was nothing he could do. Tom's friendship with Eva changes those around him - especially St. Clare. Stow demonstrates through Tom's life that is not a waste but rather a blessing for those willing to take notice in the life of a slave.

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim experience the same type of friendship that Tom and Eva do. Their friendship means more to either of them than the definition of the word slave. Huck demonstrates his loyalty when he befriends Jim. This becomes evident when he realizes that he cannot tell the others of Jim's whereabouts. Huck struggles over telling the truth of telling a lie. He cannot reach an acceptable answer at the time and thus determines to do "whichever come handiest at the time" (Twain 307). Huck does eventually lies for his friend later in the novel - an indication that he is more human than the adults that attempted to raise him. He rationalizes lying by saying:

Then I thought a minute and says to myself, hold on, --s'pose you'd done a right and give Jim up; would you feel better than what you do now? No, says I, I'd feel bad -- I'd feel just the same way I do now. Well, then, says I, what's the use of you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages just the same?" (307).

In addition, he decides that it would be better to go to hell than to tell on his friend. For a young boy raised on racism in a culture drenched in deep religious guilt, he comes to see the light rather quickly.

However, the poignancy of the relationship is revealed through Jim's interaction with Huck.

He tells the young boy that he is the "bes' fren'" (305) he has ever known and the only friend he has after he runs away. Like Tom, Jim is the eldest in each relationship and is therefore more aware of what is going on around him. He knows the repercussions of befriending a slave and this makes him appreciate Huck even more. Jim needs Huck's friendship but he has been conditioned by society to put those types of things aside.